Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa
The Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa has been open since 2009 in a purpose-built edifice at the town’s northern entrance, by the old National Road Igoumenitsa – Ioannina, opposite to Epirus Institute of Technology and the Municipal Stadium. In terms of administration, it is not an autonomous organization, but operates under the auspices of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thesprotia.
The permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa, under the title “Thesprotian Land”, covers the period from the Middle Palaeolithic (100.000 years before present) until the period of the Ottoman rule (19th cent. AD), through selected finds and additional informative material that allow the visitor to follow the most important historical stopovers and the multiplicity of the archaeological past of Thesprotia. Special interest is focused on the Hellenistic period, a very prosperous one and representative for the whole region of Epirus. The exhibits derive from rescue and systematic excavations in the entire prefecture of Thesprotia and are material witnesses of the multiple facets of human life in various historical periods.
The completion of the exhibition, a result of assiduous endeavour and co-operation among personnel of different specialities, was given substance in December 2009, when the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa became open to the public. Fragments of a centuries-long past, small treasures brought to light through the archaeological research over the last decades and which, until previously, were scattered in the Archaeological Museums of Ioannina and Corfu, as well as in storerooms, finally found the place they deserve, fulfilling at the same time a constant demand of the local population.
The Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa is a vivid cultural cell, fully integrated in the social life of the area, with all necessary infrastructures for the public. Apart from the halls of the permanent exhibition there is also a multipurpose hall (“Hall Sotiris Dakaris”), a screening room, a small outdoor amphitheatre and an open terrace, for the organisation and hosting of temporary exhibitions, various cultural events, film projections, conferences, educational programmes et al., throughout the year; in this way, a deeper relationship is developed between the museum and its public and alternative means of education and entertainment are offered.
